Electroluminescent (EL) Panels are commonly used as backlights for liquid crystal displays in electronic devices. EL Panels require an alternating current (AC) drive to operate. Depending on panel size and brightness required, on the order of 60 to 120 volts at 50 to 1000 Hertz (Hz) is needed. In typical battery operated devices, this drive voltage is provided using a simple resonant inverter operating at the desired frequency, such as 200 Hz. Because these simple inverters operate at a frequency in the hundreds of cycles per second, their magnetic components must be appropriately sized for operation at that frequency, and are subsequently comparatively large. Since these inverters operate at a frequency well within the range of human hearing, they commonly produce acoustic noise during operation that users find quite irritating. The output of a typical inverter is also nonsinusiodal, with the simplest producing sawtooth or square wave outputs. This results in lower operating efficiency for the overall backlighting system, and can result in shorter backlight life. Other typical drive systems are described in Kindlmann U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,096, and Alessio U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,978. The drive systems disclosed in these patents are in the form of full bridge switching circuits. They do not produce a sinusoidal drive voltage across the EL panel, and require complex and expensive level shifters to operate high side switches. What is needed is a drive system for EL panels that is small, efficient, does not produce audible noise, does not require level shifters or high side switching, and produces a sinusoidal drive voltage across the EL panel.